This invention relates to an educational device for teaching and the like.
More particularly the invention relates to an educational device of the character hereinafter described for receiving a card having information printed on both sides thereof and accepting the card obverse face up so that information on the obverse face up or front face of the card can be read by an operator and then after receiving the card, delivering the card with the card reverse face up in position to allow the operator to read the reverse or opposite face of the card.
Some known types of teaching devices provide disks having on one face a question or interrogative suggestion and on the reverse face a corresponding reply thereto. However, such teaching devices such as the educational device of U.S. Pat. No. 335,837 (Peckham) are awkward to use, and require an aperture in the disk which interferes with the easy reading of the information on the disk. Further, the disks cannot be taken out of a set order if so desired by the operator since the disks are strung upon a rod or wire and are slidable along the rod or wire, but only from one adjacent disk to the next adjacent disk. This also limits the number of disks usable with the teaching device without destroying the portability of the teaching device.
A further disadvantage of this type of teaching device is that it is manually operated and the operator must physically slip the desired disk along the rod or wire to a position where the operator can read the reverse face of the disk and then rotate the disk so that the material faces the proper direction for easy reading by the operator. This requires a great deal of manipulative motion by the operator and can interfere with the learning process.
A further disadvantage of present day teaching devices and related apparatus such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,222,245 (Steen) is that all of the information is on the same side of the card and an operator can inadvertently read the answer to the question while reading the question. A still further disadvantage is the turning and difficult manipulation of the card into a box where the card is held in position under spring pressure and then sliding the card half-way out by finger pressure, and after mentally giving the answer withdrawing the card again by finger pressure.
Another disadvantage of present day teaching devices and related apparatus is the complexity of the mechanisms necessary to operate the device as well as the size and weight of the apparatus making it costly and stationary. Devices of this nature such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,522,226 (Hood) are much too expensive to produce for todays teaching market where school districts are finding themselves short of money and the taxpayers are up in arms over any increase in their taxes. Further such an item could never be sold by mail order catalogue as a specific teaching aid for a particular home market because of the bulk cost of manufacture. There is the further disadvantage that a trained mechanic would be necessary for any required repairs to the teaching apparatus of this like should repairs become necessary.
Related apparatus such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,189,342 (Bocock) only teach selective sorting of cards and fail to describe a useful teaching apparatus.
Likewise, related apparatus such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,461,290 (Maynard) have the disadvantage in that they fail to teach how the card is reversed so that the operator can view the obverse face of the card when it exits the teaching apparatus.
What is desired is an educational device that is portable, light weight and simple to manufacture at a low price, and does not require costly maintenance, while at the same time being easy to use by an operator and having cards for use therewith which clearly divide the question content and answer content to separate sides of the card. Further, the information on the card itself should be readable without apertures or other objectionable interferences placed in the way of the information. Lastly, the device should be simple to use even for a pre-school child and reliable, and the answers should always appear at the proper station without additional effort of the operator.